Pressure Biosciences’ technology is building momentum

Pressure Biosciences Inc (OTCMKTS:BIO) has seen momentum building behind its proprietary technology, a new way to open cells for researchers.

Revenues are on the rise and the group’s efforts to bring in new business is delivering.

The company got a major shot in the arm in December as it now sees itself playing a key role in a new cancer research initiative in the United States, following the introduction of new legislation.

Pressure BioSciences hits record quarter

In the third quarter Pressure BioSciences saw revenues reach a record high and touched above $500,000 for the first time in any quarter, while lower expenses helped lead to a lower operating loss.

In the three months ended Sept 30, revenue from products and services amounted to $500,949 compared with $481,452 in the same period of 2015.

This was a record high for products and services revenue in a quarter and marked the first time that products and services revenue exceeded half a million dollars in a financial quarter. Revenue was driven primarily by the sale of instruments, which also set a record high with $383,789 for the quarter, compared to $340,084 (the previous record) for the same quarter of 2015.

“We expect grant revenue to begin to increase in the fourth quarter of 2016 and continue to increase into 2017. Total revenue decreased to $535,334 in the third quarter 2016 from $580,334 for the third quarter of 2015. This decrease was due to the decrease in grant revenue,” the company said in a statement.

A major role in a cancer moonshot

In December the company told investors that it expects to play a key role in the US $1.8bn “Cancer Moonshot” initiative after legislation was signed.

Specifically, it is set to benefit from the 21st Century Cures Act which included $1.8bn earmarked specifically for cancer research.

Pressure BioSciences’ technology is already being featured as an essential technology and used by leading researchers participating in the ‘Cancer Moonshot’ and other important research programs.

This program aims to accelerate cancer research and support other avenues that will improve the ability to understand, prevent, detect, treat, and even cure cancer. Its goal is to try and achieve in the next five years what would normally take ten years to complete.

This will be achieved in part by increasing the number of cancer researchers and studies, increasing the sharing of samples and data among these researchers, and by offering cancer researchers access to 21st century, cutting-edge laboratory tools (instruments, consumables, etc.) that will enhance and improve their research studies.

Proprietary technology and winning over opinion leaders

Pressure Biosciences’ proprietary PCT-HD system has in recent years been trialled and adopted by leading scientists.

“We have a unique, patented technology that is now beginning to be appreciated by scientists around the world,” Ric Schumacher, the group’s founder said earlier this year.

Schumacher highlighted that generally the life sciences have moved on significantly in past decades with the focus increasingly upon the intricacies within cells rather than what occurs around the outsides of them.

However, he says the technological approach to actually ‘open’ cells remains relatively crude and are still largely the same as they were in the 1980s (when he was last in the lab in a scientific capacity).

At Pressure BioSciences we’ve developed this new method, never been used before, to open the cell and get “all the good stuff” out.

“Essentially it is like a sponge, we squeeze it out. Where others beat up ‘the sponge’ using mechanical, we put it in a pressure chamber. It is much gentler, it is much more controllable.”

Schumacher points out that, generally speaking, scientists are stubborn people by nature, and convincing them to change their working practices has been one of the biggest challenges for the company.

But, by targeting what he calls ‘key opinion leaders’ in certain specialist fields Schumacher says Pressure Bioscience has started to overcome this hurdle.

“You have to go after the key opinion leaders. The scientists around the world that are recognised as the experts in studying proteins, DNA, RNA and lipids.

“We have to go after them and get them to use the technology with the assumption that once they’ve used it, they’ll realise how much better the system is.